Influence of coat colour, season and physiological status on reproduction of rabbit does in an Algerian local population

In Algeria, rabbit meat production is small-scale, mainly on small farms with rabbits from local populations whose productivity and growth are rather low, but which are well adapted to the local environment. Of these, farmers prefer white rabbits, with the Albino or Himalayan alleles of gene C. Our objective was to verify the appropriateness of this preference for white rabbit does over a period long enough to also assess the effect of season. From September 2006 to June 2010, reproduction data from 209 females (138 white and 71 coloured) mated by 51 males from the same population were recorded. There was neither effect of sire coat colour nor any interactions between coat colour, season and physiological status of does. There was a significant relationship between coat colour (white vs. coloured) and most reproductive traits, except receptivity and fertility, in favour of coloured females. Litter size was higher by 0.67 kits born ( P= 0.041), 1.27 born alive ( P< 0.0001) and 1.04 weaned ( P= 0.0011). There was a highly significant effect of season on all the measured traits. Receptivity, fertility and prolificacy were significantly higher before the hot period; in summer, reproductive performance was depressed, but no more than during the following period, confirming the good adaptation of this local population to hot conditions. We can conclude that the preference of farmers for white animals is not justified because there is in this population an unfavourable genetic association between reproduction and Albino or Himalayan alleles of C gene, which needs to be explored in more detail.